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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · leaves · stock · bound · kid · charge · land · snap

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. land — to come down
  11. bound — certain
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. bound — obliged
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com